Taxi service running on fumes

Falmouth residents looking to hail a cab are facing long odds and potentially longer waits.

AARON GOUVEIA

FALMOUTH — Residents looking to hail a cab are facing long odds and potentially longer waits.

There are five taxis operating in a town with more than 30,000 residents year-round, and more than 100,000 in the summer. Falmouth Taxi — which held seven licenses and operated 15 of the 20 taxis in town — went out of business earlier this month, leaving residents who use cabs with little recourse.

In comparison, the town of Barnstable — with roughly 50,000 residents — has 13 taxi companies operating 42 cabs, according to the town's licensing authority. That number increases to 58 taxis in the summer.

Selectmen are revising the town's taxi regulations, and will review at least four applications to establish new cab companies some time next month.

Jane Perry, a Falmouth woman and member of the transportation commission who is unable to drive because she has impaired sight, uses taxis when the buses aren't running or when something comes up at the last minute.

"You used to be able to get one right away," Perry said. "Now you have to call five independents but they are busy with their own customers and they each only have one license."

Perry said it can take up to 30 minutes for a taxi to arrive. That can be an inconvenience, especially for elderly people who use taxis to do their food shopping, run errands and get to medical appointments.

Matters can be further complicated if the taxi companies have airport fares in Boston or Providence. Also, two of the cab companies operate mainly in Woods Hole picking up ferry passengers, leaving three cabs to cover the rest of the town.

Yousri Maghrabi, the former owner of Falmouth Taxi, had seven licenses and was permitted to operate a total of 15 taxis under different company names.

The town requires taxi companies to keep at least one car per license on the road on an around-the-clock basis. Due to financial troubles, the number of active Falmouth Taxi cabs dwindled to three by the end of last year, Perry said.

The remaining three taxi companies — Nobska Taxi, AA Taxi and All Seasons Taxi — have joined forces so if someone calls a company that is unavailable, they are given the name and phone number of the other businesses, said Debi Netto, owner of Nobska Taxi.

Formed before Falmouth Taxi went out of business, this cooperative effort has helped combat the "public outcry" for better service, Netto said.

"People have been very good about waiting," Netto said. "We're honest, and if we say it's going to be 20 minutes then they pretty much understand."

Despite recent efforts to correct the problem, Perry said she doesn't understand why it took so long for the board to address the issue.

Last August, police received a tip about Falmouth Taxi using cars that were not properly registered and insured. Police ran seven license plate numbers of cars found on Falmouth Taxi's lot, and all seven came up unregistered or uninsured, police said.

All the vehicles were eventually allowed back on the road once proof of insurance and registration had been turned in to police. No criminal action was taken because the cars were not being driven at the time, police said.

Perry is happy selectmen are addressing the issue, but hopes it won't take so long in the future.

"If someone has a complaint about a dog, there's a hearing," Perry said at the board's Feb. 11 meeting. "We should've had this hearing a long time ago."

Selectman Ahmed Mustafa, a member of the taxi subcommittee, said despite police involvement, there was never a hearing concerning Falmouth Taxi because "there's a lot of things that fall through the cracks and I think this was just one of them."

Mustafa said he is in the process of revising the taxi regulations.

The changes will "add teeth" to the existing laws, deter monopolies on taxi licenses, and allow existing license-holders to apply for additional seasonal permits to add cabs in the summer.